The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 29, 1991 - Page 11 i BASEBALL OPENS BIG TEN SEASON I 1 t Sluggers set to battle Bucks b D y Matthew Dodge aily Baseball Writer The Big Ten baseball champi- onship series has been scheduled early this season. Well, for Michi- gan, it has. The Wolverines are on NCAA probation for the 1991 season. They are ineligible for the Big Ten's post- season tournament. The Michigan team, ranked 21st nationally, must prove its strength during the regu- lar season. In a perfect world, Michigan (11-7) would be playing Ohio State for the Big Ten title in May. How- ever, that will not happen, so this weekend's four-game series in Columbus will be vital to the for- tunes of both teams. "Going into the season, I thought they would be the team to beat," Michigan coach Bill Freehan said. "This is a series that people will be watching." Ohio State (19-2) is the ninth- ranked team in the latest Baseball America poll. The Buckeyes will enter Saturday's doubleheader fresh off a Florida road swing. Yesterday, the squad closed its spring tour in Del Ray, Fla. The Wolverines and Buckeyes are expected to finish at the top of the Big Ten heap. It is a toss-up as to which of the two teams will take the regular season title. The conference slate begins for each squad with doubleheaders both Saturday and Sunday. But each team has taken different paths to the Big Ten opener. Michigan traveled to Florida State to play two games against the top-ranked team in the nation, losing both. The Wolverines' non- conference schedule has been as difficult as possible. Ohio State took an opposite approach in form- ing a pre-Big Ten schedule. The Buckeyes' 19-2 record has been boosted by an 11-game winning streak. But that streak came at the expense of weak competition: Columbia, Manhattan, and East Connecticut State. "They choose to do things dif- ferently," Freehan said. "Their competition differs from ours. We have played against teams better KENNETH SMOLLERJDaily Michigan head coach Bill Freehan looks on from the dugout during a recent game. The Wolverines will face Ohio State this weekend. ANTNYM.y OLU8Jiy Senior catcher Julie Cooper takes to the basepaths during a recent practice. Cooper and the Wolverines open the Big Ten season today with a doubleheader at Indiana and complete the four-game series with a doubleheader tomorrow. Blue opens conference season I than Ohio State on the road. We went down to Florida State and were competitive. "I am looking forward to this trip. We see ourselves as being more than capable. I see us being as good as Ohio State." The key to the Wolverines' series will be the pitching. Ohio State's Trautman Field is a hitter's park. Whichever team can hold the oppos- ing sluggers under wraps could win. "It's a small ballpark," Freehan said. "Our hitters might really like it." Michigan hurlers Jason Pfaff (4- 1), Russell Brock (2-3), and Dennis Konuszewski (1-0) will be in charge of making sure that the Buckeyes hitters are not happy. With the outset of the confer- ence schedule, the Wolverines will play more doubleheaders than they could ever want. Almost every not- conference game has been nine ip- nings, which has built up the e- durance of Freehan's starters. "I don't like doubleheaders; I never have," Freehan said. "The Big Ten season is more difficult. The doubleheaders take concentration. When a team wins the first gamg, they may have a hard time staying focused for the second." Whatever problems Michigap may have against Ohio State, a lac of concentration probably won't lie one of them. by Ryan Herrington Daily Sports Writer Spring is usually considered the season of rebirth. True to form, an- other Big Ten softball season will .egin to sprout this weekend in In- diana. The Michigan softball team opens its Big Ten season by travel- ing to Bloomington to face the In- diana Hoosiers in a pair of double- headers. The four-game series, being flayed today and tomorrow, also mnarks the beginning of Indiana's Big Ten season. Michigan (11-7) came off a three-week hiatus by taking third- Place in the National Invitational Softball Tournament in Sunnydale, Calif. last weekend. The Wolver- ines went 3-2, losing only to 'ighth-ranked Iowa and host San Jose. Michigan coach Carol Hutchins, beginning her seventh Big Ten cam- paign, feels confident that her team Is prepared to start the long road toward what she hopes will be a Big Ten championship. "We're in really good shape," Hutchins said. "We had one of our best practices of the year (Tuesday). I think we're in a good position to begin the (Big Ten) sea- son." Hutchins believes her team must execute its offense in order to be successful this weekend. So far this season, outfielder Patti Bene- dict has led the way in the hitting department for the Wolverines. Benedict, the Big Ten rookie of the year last season, currently leads the team with a .321 batting average. Indiana (14-14), which finished in third place in the Big Ten last season with a 16-8 record, is com- ing off a busy pre-Big Ten schedule which included tournaments hosted by Miami of Ohio, South Florida, and Florida State. Fourth- year coach Diane Stephenson ex- pects a good effort from her young squad in its Big Ten opener. "We just need to play consis- tently this weekend," Stephenson said. "We need to take it one game at a time." Pitching will be highlighted throughout the weekend series. Christy Brown, a first-team, All- Big Ten pitcher and the Hoosiers' lone senior, is bound to see a con- siderable amount of time on the mound. In her first three years at IU, Brown has posted a stellar 0.72 ERA, allowing only 22 earned runs in 212.2 innings. "We really look to her for our leadership," Stephenson said. Not to be outdone, the Wolver- ines staff consists of senior Andrea Nelson (3-2, 2.69 ERA), sopho- more Kelly Forbis (5-3, 1.05) and first-year player Julie Clarkson (3- 2, 0.84). All three have divided the pitching duties and have become a fairly formidable trio. "What's nice is we can start any one of our three pitchers and feel confident," Hutchins said. "It's not important who pitches but who gets the win." According to Hutchins, all three of the pitchers will see action this weekend. However, the Wolverines have only one thing in mind this week- end and that is to get off to a fast start. "During the Big Ten season, the biggest obstacle is whoever were facing that day," Hutchins said. "This weekend it's Indiana." l l STUDENT SHIPPING AND STORAGE. * Safe, convenient, and inexpensive shipping to New York and New Jersey * Summer storage in Ann Arbor JOIN THE MET MOVERS TRADITION! CALL ADAM, 998-1644 RESERVE OFFICERS' TRAINING CORPS :I Appyr nw.or4ixweesKo Amy OT ton 0ryofie rdntaswie obiain. nnaiavurcl esuis Yo'ldvlpth icpie cofdnead eiiees ttkst suce nay aer n yul ulf toer rm fierceetil hl vo'ecmltiavu3oleesuis 1 I i U of M Turkish Student Association Proudly Presents: Beyond the Anatolian Horizon A Concert by _OZDEMIR ERDOGAN Turkish Folk, Classical Art Music, International Songs SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 1991 7:00 PM RACKHAM AUDITORIUM E. Washington St., Ann Arbor, Michigan k a Tickets may be purchased atany TicketMaster location or by calling 763-TKTS. Tickets also available at: Hudson's in Briarwood Mall Wherehouse Records at 1140 S. University Michigan Union, and at the entrance. Students $5, general admission $10. Turkish Cultural Month